AGP to launch anti-Congress campaign on June 3

Guwahati, May 31 (IANS) Assam's regional political party Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) will launch a state-wide campaign against the ruling Congress from June 3, a senior AGP leader said Friday.

"We are launching an anti-Tarun Gogoi campaign across the state from June 3," AGP president and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta told reporters at a press conference here.

He also asked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to apologize to the people of Assam for their comments against the AGP.

The WikiLeaks had recently revealed that in 2006 Rahul Gandhi had compared the AGP with an insurgent group in Assam. Gogoi had Thursday supported Gandhi, saying that AGP leaders were "cousin brothers" of the insurgent outfit United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa).

"By supporting Rahul Gandhi's statement, Gogoi has proved that he has hardly any knowledge about the history of the state. His statement has also insulted the 855 martyrs who were killed by the then Congress-led Assam government during the six-year-long historic Assam movement," Mahanta said.

The former chief minister also alleged that it is the Congress leaders, who have links with insurgent groups.

Mahanta also slammed Gogoi for his failure in governance, and said that his government failed to implement 19 flagship schemes of the central government in the state which were worth Rs.33,647 crore.

"Gogoi should also make public of current status of his 11,756 promises since 2001," he added.